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Zen-chan
, also known as Bubble Buster or Benzo, is a recurring enemy in the Bubble Bobble series. Zen-chans are one of the most common enemies present throughout the series, and feature in almost every Bubble Bobble game. Biography Appearance Zen-chans are cylindrical in shape, and resemble a small wind-up toy. A Zen-chan's body is separated into two parts, the top part being light gray, and the bottom part being a darker blue color. Zen-chans have a wind-up key attached to the side of their mouths, and the bottom section of their bodies sticks out compared to the top one, giving them a noticeable underbite. Zen-chans are typically shown with red feet, which are sometimes depicted in the shape of the feet of a typical wind-up toy. Abilities Zen-chans do not possess many unique abilities, and most of their attacks involve simply jumping and charging at their opponent. In certain games, Zen-chans are able to shoot their spare mechanical parts as an attack. Additionally, the Zen-chans in Rainbow Islands are able to fire red pellets out of their mouths, an ability that has not been featured in any other games. History Chack'n Pop Zen-chans were originally planned to appear as enemies in Chack'n Pop alongside Maitas and Monstas, but did not make it into the final game. Although they were scrapped, their sprite data can still be found in the game's files. ''Bubble Bobble Zen-chans make their proper debut in ''Bubble Bobble, appearing as one of the most common enemies in the game. They march back and forth across the stage, only stopping to jump up to a higher platform if the player is above them. Two Giant Zen-chans appear on Round 17, carrying Betty and Patty to the bottom floor of the Cave of Monsters. ''Rainbow Islands Zen-chans return in ''Rainbow Islands, appearing as enemies in the game's final world, Bubble Island. Like the other enemies in the level, they appear in a perpetually angered state, and now have the ability to shoot red pellets at the player. ''Parasol Stars Zen-chans appear in ''Parasol Stars in the eighth world, Bubble Star, behaving similarly to their appearance in Bubble Bobble. They are joined by a new variant known as Robo-Zen, a large Zen-chan with mechanical legs. ''Bubble Bobble Part 2 Zen-chans appear yet again in ''Bubble Bobble Part 2 as a common enemy. The game's first boss, Springit, is a large capsule-shaped Zen-chan with arms. After being damaged enough, Springit's top is destroyed, revealing him to be piloted by an ordinary Zen-chan, who can be defeated like any other enemy. Robo-Zens also make a reappearance, gaining the ability to fire missiles at the player. In the North American manual for Bubble Bobble Part 2, Zen-chans are known as Hoppit. ''Bubble Bobble Junior Zen-chans appear once again in ''Bubble Bobble Junior. The first boss of the game is a large propellored Zen-chan known as Helio. ''Bubble Symphony Zen-chans appear once again in ''Bubble Symphony. Unlike previous games in the series, their bottom half is now colored purple. A variant of Zen-chan clad in knight armor known as Kabu-chan is introduced as well. ''Bust-A-Move A Zen-chan appears in the SNES version of ''Bust-A-Move as the first opponent in Vs. Mode. They make an appearance outside of Vs. Mode in all versions of the game, being trapped inside the blue bubbles featured in normal gameplay. ''Bubble Memories Zen-chans and their giant variants appear as common enemies in ''Bubble Memories. The Giant Zen-chans are unable to be trapped in regular bubbles, and can only be defeated by way of a Special Bubble or being trapped in a Giant Bubble. ''Bust-A-Move 3 Zen-chans have a small cameo in ''Bust-A-Move 3, appearing in the intros to Bub and Debblun's stages. In this appearance, they reuse their sprites from Bubble Bobble. ''Classic Bubble Bobble Zen-chans appear in ''Classic Bubble Bobble, acting and looking identical to their portrayal in Bubble Bobble Junior. A giant Zen-chan named Pear appears as the boss of the Clock Area. ''Bust-A-Move Millennium A Zen-chan is playable character in ''Bust-A-Move Millennium, and is one of the few characters that Bub does not fight in Story Mode. ''Bubble Bobble: Old & New Zen-chans once again appear in ''Bubble Bobble: Old & New, receiving a slight redesign. In this appearance, they look more robotic and have a more oblong shape. ''Puzzle Bobble DS A Zen-chan is a playable character in ''Puzzle Bobble DS, along with several other enemies from Bubble Bobble. ''Bubble Bobble Revolution Zen-chans once again appear as common enemies in ''Bubble Bobble Revolution. The first boss of the game is a Zen-chan-shaped mech piloted by three of the enemies. A new variant of Zen-chan also appears in the game. ''Bust-A-Move DS Zen-chans have a minor role in ''Bust-A-Move DS, appearing on the bottom screen, holding a Star Bubble in reserve for the player. A Zen-chan also appears on the title screen, sleeping inside of a bubble. ''Rainbow Islands Revolution Zen-chans appear as enemies on Bubble Island in ''Rainbow Islands Revolution, mirroring their appearance from the original Rainbow Islands. Unlike their appearance in that title, they are not able to fire pellets this time. ''Bust-A-Move Deluxe Zen-chans appear in ''Bust-A-Move Deluxe, working the Bubble Launcher in place of the player. ''Bubble Bobble Double Shot '']] Zen-chans appear common enemies in ''Bubble Bobble Double Shot. A Giant Zen-chan is the first boss, and spits out smaller Zen-chans and screws to attack. ''Bubble Bobble Plus! Zen-chans appear in ''Bubble Bobble Plus!, behaving identically to their initial appearance. ''Bust-A-Move Plus! A Zen-chan is the first opponent fought in the Vs. Mode of ''Bust-A-Move Plus!. ''Bust-A-Move Universe A Zen-chan is the first boss in ''Bust-A-Move Universe, guarding a blue Bubble Dragon on the Motherland level. It can be defeated by shooting Bomb Bubbles at the bubble that it surrounds itself with. Bubble Bobble Double Zen-chans are once again common enemies in Bubble Bobble Double, being able to be defeated by tapping on the screen to trap them in a bubble. The first boss of the game is a robotic Zen-chan known as the Mechanic Zen-chan. Bust-A-Move Islands Zen-chans appear in Bust-A-Move Islands as both a playable character and a non-playable character encountered in cutscenes. Other appearances Pop'n Pop A Giant Zen-chan is the first boss encountered by the player in Pop'n Pop, firing gears down at the player's helper in order to hinder them. Bubble Bobble for Kakao Zen-chans are common enemies in the South Korea-exclusive mobile title Bubble Bobble for Kakao. The game uses upscaled vectorized versions of their Bubble Symphony sprites. Etymology The name "Zen-chan" comes from the Japanese word , meaning "spring". The Japanese term translates to clockwork, and is likely the inspiration of the name, given the enemy's resemblance to a wind-up toy. The second part of the name comes from the Japanese honorific , which is usually used to indicate the speaker finds the person they are talking about endearing. Gallery Bubble Buster CP.png|''Chack'n Pop'' Bubble Buster BB Art.png|''Bubble Bobble'' Bubble buster arcade.png|''Bubble Bobble'' Bubblebusterps.png|''Parasol Stars'' Bubble Buster BBP2.png|''Bubble Bobble Part 2'' Bubble Buster BBJr.png|''Bubble Bobble Junior'' Bubble Buster BS.png|''Bubble Symphony'' Bubble Buster BS Big.png|''Bubble Symphony'' Bambubblebusterwin.png|''Bust-A-Move'' Bambubblebuster.png|''Bust-A-Move'' BM BubbleBuster.png|''Bubble Memories'' Bubble Buster Old & New.jpg|''Bubble Bobble: Old & New'' BubbleBusterPBDS.png|''Puzzle Bobble DS'' Bubble Buster PBDS Sprite.png|''Puzzle Bobble DS'' Bubble Buster BBR.png|''Bubble Bobble Revolution'' Bubble Buster BAMDS.png|''Bust-A-Move DS'' Bubble Buster BAMDS Bubble.png|''Bust-A-Move DS'' BubbleBuster BAMDX.png|''Bust-A-Move Deluxe'' Bubble Buster BBDS.png|''Bubble Bobble Double Shot'' Bubble-bobble-wii-056.jpg|''Bubble Bobble Plus!'' Bubble Buster Plus.png|''Bubble Bobble Plus!'' Zen-chan Islands.png|''Bust-A-Move Islands'' Category:Enemies Category:Playable characters